So what does this mean? Having kept abreast of what is proven to work, not just empirically, but backed by evidence-based research, if it has no basis in evidence, it doesn’t get used. Maybe that’s my police officer background showing through.

A prime example, affirmations. Research shows there is no measurable improvement by reciting new-found affirmations. There is evidence it can actually do harm. If you recite something your subconscious doesn’t believe, it will highlight the places where there is evidence the affirmation is untrue. Now you feel worse than before the affirmations because you’ve highlighted perceived deficiencies.

In the area of Mental peak performance I concentrate on what I call the trifecta. The trifecta consists of a Growth Mindset, Mental Resiliency and Mental Focus. This hits what I’ve found, and evidence supports, are three areas where our mental strength needs support. These areas are perspective, energy and balance. With coaching in these three realms people reach their fullest potential.

As a certified Emotional Intelligence Coach I coach clients to refine their strengths and to optimize untapped resources. Research has shown “90% of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control.” Not only as a coach, but as a retired police officer I can attest to the benefits of maintaining calm and control of one’s self during stressful situations. It has long been known that aversion or attachment to our emotions brings more angst to an already heightened situation. For this reason Mindfulness is further developed in this area of coaching.

Since the late 1800’s there has been a focus on behaviorism. The systematic understanding of human behavior, based on our internal and external environment, has helped numerous fields of endeavor eke out more from our human nature. Being a Certified Behavioral Consultant I help my clients capitalize on their natural temperament. We then go one step further and develop skills that give them cross-over into behavioral skills they might not have accessed before.

None of the previous work would be of any value if we could not relate to others. The work in the mental, emotional and behavioral domains has a synergistic effect when coupled with coaching on how to relate to those we interact with in our home, work and social life. Gaining an increase ability and wider range to those we can relate to is the focus of our relational work.

Last but not least is Self, which some call our natural spirit. While all the work is about the self, here we work to make all attributes of our self come together as one. Our coaching work will integrate all of your natural abilities and bring to bear the refined and enriched version of your Truest Self!

__________________________________

“What’s in a name?”

The name “MEMBERS” is really an acronym. MEMBERS stands for helping my clients gain resiliency, confidence and leverage on their:

Mental and intellectual capabilities;EMotional Intelligence;BEhaviors;Relationships; and theirSelf, their truest self!

_______________________________________________________

My vision is to work alongside all high achievers seeing them achieve all their highest goals, having facilitated the process which allowed them to gain all their victories faster and with less resistance._______________________________________________________

We have all heard, “What you see is what you get.” Is that helpful since that means you are getting the whole ball of wax? You’re only seeing the exterior of that ball of wax, so to speak.

Even more specifically about that whole ball of wax is you are seeing the exterior they arechoosing to show. The next logical question should be, “Okay, so what is it that I am getting that I don’t see?”

My story is, as a certified coach and having worked one-on-one with people since 1995, I work with ‘high-potentials‘ who are moving up, high achievers who want to achieve even higher goals,serial entrepreneurs who are taking their business/start-up to the next level and C- level executives who want to bring all their expertise to bear.

When I coach you, what you see is what you get. More importantly, you are getting what you can’t see. You are getting the part you don’t know unless I am willing to share it.

Well first I’ll tell you why I am willing to share. I firmly believe we all have a purpose, it is nature’s law. More importantly I firmly believe it’s our internal story that determines how successful we are in that purpose or anything else we attempt.

Here is my back-story. I started out life with less than an auspicious start. There’s a lot of that going around. There is a lot of bad, and good, family history; there seems to be a lot more of that going around. The highs and low could all be spelled out here, but the specifics are not particularly important, but the message is.

When we work together, you will here the details as they become pertinent, but the message is, it doesn’t matter what your back-story is. It doesn’t matter who did what to whom. What matters today is your frame of reference. What matters is what you do with the resources that history gives you. Wins and learns, feedback not failures.
This is where stories come into play. You frame your story early in life. Unless you takeconscious effort to reframe that story, it stays at the emotional level of that young child even if you look at it now with an older mindset.

How does my story help you? Just choosing three of my favorite high points, I believe I can show you a little of my internal story. I have used my education, training and my internal fortitude to be the best coach I can in helping others, human to human (H2H), to get the most from their internal grit.

I had the fortune of saving a woman who was over the railing of a bridge high over Lake Erie. The hundreds of feet over the water and the shallowness in that spot made it an impossible jump even if you were Johnny WEISSMULLER . How did I do it? I coached her off the ledge.

Later I was asked by those on the bridge and then on the news, “How did you know what to say?” I’ll tell you what, I’m not sure how But the what was pure, straight, unadulterated coaching. I had a story deep down inside me I could pull more than I needed to coach from.

Here’s another of my cherished moments that I was also fortunate enough to be a part of. A family near me made front-page news because of the lawsuit they were in with their child’s school district. Their son has autism. This is about the middle of the last decade and Autism was just getting nationwide attention. They were interviewed about their trials and tribulations and how little help and support they were getting.

Another part of my back-story is my son has severe autism. Tracking them down, I helped where, when and how I could, I am a coach, so I coach. At the end of the day their case went to the Supreme Court of the United States. I was asked to go with them and they won, no we all won. Did I have a law degree? No. But what I did have is an internal story of the coach I am, the story of what I can help accomplish for those I work with.

Shortly thereafter I went to work for the largest county in my state’s Prosecutor’s Office. I ended up working 20 year old sex crime cases that had been shelved. The State’s Attorney General had decreed the cases would be opened back up all over the state. Who was handed the very first case in my state? Me. Why? Who will ever know for sure, but how I do things is based on my internal story, how I coach things, and coach others. Every survivor I worked with, through coaching and its tools, prevailed in their case and beyond.

At this point I went on to be the first in my state to indict a criminal on their DNA alone and one of a handful in the United States at the time. See I believe yours and my internal story has an effect in how we interact with the world. Our external stories correlate highly with our internal stories. What brings the two successfully together, how I coach those I work with, and how they are able to then draw even more from themselves then they did before.

Does my internal story correlate 100% to my daily life? No. What my internal story does do is help me to interpret those events as I coach myself. How does all this impact you? When I coach you, not only do I bring all my education, training and experience, but I leverage my story, a story I’ve coached myself to gain every strength I need through.

Finding and ‘remarketing’ all your strength and leveraging your story to achieve your vision is just a small part of how we will work together. Taking the same level of passion, determination and drive I had when the stakes were the highest is the same level I bring to the table with you. To me, the stakes are always high. This is your life, your story and when we work together it will be my privilege to coach and to see your hard work pay off.

My story continues to be that in my coaching ‘high-potentials’ I have to go the extra mile no matter what, my story is that I have to leave a large return on investment on the table for you because part of my payment is adding your success story to mine, my story reads I never stop training and doing.

You are going to be the “goal digger” that reaps all the benefit of what I have learned over the last couple decades about confidence, resiliency and focus as well as the continuing coaching education I bring to the table.

Do I know I can coach you to the story you chose to create, coaching that potential that has catapulted you to where you are now? It’s just intuitive. If the past is the best predictor of the future, I know and have continuously proved I can.

Helping high-potentials, high performers, entrepreneurs top executives and their ilk, is my story. You being a part of that story are the next good chapter in both of our stories.

Let’s talk and see where the story leads. If it’s a good fit, if I can help you with an immediate goal, we’ll just tackle that pro-bono. If it’s longer term, we’ll talk about an agreement that is right for both of us. I look forward to working together soon. Contact me today and inquire about the FREE 3 weeks of Peak Performance Coaching offer!*

Why have a coach? In a lot of ways it boils down to the ‘bottom line’,
a Return on Investment(ROI).

But heck, what does a coach even do? Please continue reading or if you’d just rather ask me,CLICK HERE.

Many who say they are a coach are quasi-mentoring, quasi-consulting and maybe quasi-coaching. I would like to clear up some misconceptions and give information on what a coach, by definition, does.

“What does a coach do” should probably be tackled first because you might see on your own why you could use one. A coach is the process facilitator for your drive, your dreams, your vision for yourself and your undertakings. A coach helps bring awareness and accountability to your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and impediments; and then facilitates turning your ideas into actions. They help unpack your gut instincts into something tangible. Then they draw out of you a more stream-lined set of actions steps that get you there sooner and with far less resistance.

How is this done? It’s not done as a mentor who tells you how they did it. They don’t do it by telling you what to do like a consultant is hired to do. A coach draws out of you what might not be verbalized. And while they do a lot of that by asking questions, more importantly they get you to ask yourself the important questions and put the answers into a plan with specific objectives, a time-line and evident criteria which allows you to see how you are progressing.

You will know a good coach not just by the quality of their questions or by the depth of the answers they draw out of you, but by how much your input is focused on. A mentor tells you what they have done and you ask feedback questions making them the person with the insight. A consultant talks and you go follow their recommendations. In a coaching relationship you are the expert on you, what drives you and where you want to go. A coach helps shed light, clarify and help you make real what you deem is important.

So why have a coach. Well, if Warren Buffet has one that’s good enough for me. But it’s just good advice. Bill Gates, he’s a Tech business owner, in a TED Talk said, “EVERYONE needs a Coach”. And Eric Schmidt said, “Some of the best advice I ever received was to have a coach”. (right-click and open link in a new tab or window for a minute-and-a-half clip.)
By the way, if you don’t know who Eric Schmidt is, he’s past CEO of Google, among other businesses. He is one of a few people who became a billionaire based on stock options received as employees in corporations of which he was neither the founder nor a relative of the founders.

As of January 2016, Forbes ranked Schmidt as the 48th-richest person in the world, with an estimated wealth of $10.6 billion. When he stepped down as Google’s CEO, Google announced that he would continue as the executive chairman of the company and act as an adviser to co-founders Page and Brin. He obviously has some business smarts.
Obviously Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Eric Schmidt don’t need someone to tell them what to do. But they do see the need to have someone who can help them continue to pull the very best from within themselves. When I coach you, one aspect of your Return on Investment will be that I help you draw out the very best of who you are! So let’s set this in motion; let’s talk today. And don’t forget to ask about the FREE 3 weeks of Peak Performance Coaching offer*!

Studies by Gail Matthews at Dominican University has proved that strategies for effective goal achievement include: writing goals down, sharing goals and providing those people with one’s progress updates

And the best for last…

Having a (credible) coach increases your chances of achieving your goal by a factor of nine times!

More calm. Screen out disturbances. Silence your phone and turn off your laptop screen. Let others know that you’ll be unavailable for a short period.

Greater equanimity. Practice more regularly. Your centering space is a potent reminder if you’re trying to establish a regular habit. You can anticipate your next session each time you see your meditation reminders.

Creating a Meditation Space of your own

Clean up. Taming the disorder allows you to keep your meditation place comforting.

Decrease the volume. Shoot for a quiet atmosphere so you can enjoy the quietness or listen to a guided meditation. A white noise generator or fan will dampen out background noise.

Add physical reminders. What do you like to have around while meditating? Something that gets you into the proper states is helpful.

For your reading pleasure. Maybe you like to refer a meditation book or other inspirational material. Have it close at hand to speed your ability to quiet yourself.

Make it inviting. A comfortable place to sit is key. Any seating that assures proper posture yet is comfortable is needed. Falling asleep isn’t the goal; you are looking for a relaxed alertness that is aided by the proper seating.

Create your own calming mini-sanctuary in your office, home or even in the outdoors. A carved-out meditation place aids you to draw your attention inward and feel a greater level of equanimity.

In our fast-paced, hectic, modernized world with all of its time-saving gadgetry, sometimes we need just the Cliff Notes or the Reader’s Digest version. Get the quick version by contacting me now or read on.At MEMBERS Coaching you get:

The valueof having a coach who used this method to get himself from where he was to where he is

More for your money by getting a time range that belongs to you, not just a half-hour or hour appointment

Convenience of in-person, via the phone or on-line appointments

Quick response to your questions between our scheduled appointments

The benefit of having a certified coach who receives on-going coach training

A coach who has studied, been educated in and/or trained in: the eleven core competencies outlined by the International Coach Federation (the largest coach certifying body in the world); Applied Behavior Analysis; Positive and Human Potential Psychology, the applied psychology of interpreting micro-expressions through the Facial Action Coding System and body language, and neuro-semantics just to name a handful.

Availabilityof having your partner with you during some appointments when applicable

Free assistance in finding a coach in another specialized niche if you are looking for something different

A coach who believes in giving nothing less than 110% to his clients, going the extra mile and always giving more and better service than is expected

This is just part of MEMBERS Coaching’s story and just the beginning of my story. My story continues, that in coaching high achievers I have to go the extra mile no matter what; my story is that I have to leave a large return on investment on the table for you because part of my payment is adding your success story to mine; my story reads,
I never stop training and doing!

Did you know statistics point out less than 10% of people aiming for a specific outcome reach that goal? The study goes on further to read, those who have a coach increase that statistic to over 90%! Contact me today and let’s reach that peak faster overcoming every obstacle in our path.

__________________________________

“What’s in a name?”

The name “MEMBERS” is really an acronym. MEMBERS stands for helping my clients gain resiliency, confidence and leverage on their:

Mental and intellectual capabilities;EMotional Intelligence;BEhaviors;Relationships; and theirSelf, their truest self!

_______________________________________________________

My vision is to work alongside all high achievers seeing them achieve all their highest goals, having facilitated the process which allowed them to gain all their victories faster and with less resistance._______________________________________________________

]]>https://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/members-coaching-cliff-notes-version/feed/0memberscoachingcomcliffnotessuccess-coaching-headerThe following is exactly 500 words to stimulate some conversation…what do you believe?https://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/the-following-is-exactly-500-words-to-stimulate-some-conversation-what-do-you-believe/
https://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/the-following-is-exactly-500-words-to-stimulate-some-conversation-what-do-you-believe/#respondSun, 14 Feb 2016 01:38:06 +0000http://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/?p=52DON’T live like every day was your last!

Wait a minute. Who am I to say, “Don’t live like every day was your last”? I’m no one. And that’s part of the point. Plenty of songs, posters and pop gurus are spouting this platitude, “Live like today was your last”. But just because they say it, does that make it true?

Here is my reasoning. Think of all the baggage people carry around. Mistakes they’ve made, things they didn’t attempt, regrets of what could have been. If today was the first day of the rest of your life then those things would not be able to steal your zest for life, today is the first day.

And what about this zest for life? Have you ever looked at a child who is seeing something for the first time? Do you see their excitement, their wonder, their lack of limitations? How much more would you attempt if you saw everything as a child does?

Let me ask you, what kind of pressure would you be under about your future if today was your last day? Your future consists of 24 hours. How much time would you spend just figuring out what was the most important thing to do? What if today’s opportunities didn’t line up with your wishes?

Let me make this real. I spent the first 18 years of my life going through the top four abuses that comprise 98% of reported abuses. If I saw each day of that as my last, how do you think I would view what my life had been? But if I view today as the first of the rest of my life then I have hope for a better future.

My son was diagnosed with severe late-onset autism. If I looked backwards because today is my last day, and that is the only direction I can see, I would be wallowing in, “What caused this?” I’d also be consumed with, “What is going to happen to my son now?” But if I see today as the first, I can say, “What can I set in motion so that he has the best life he can”.

Wow, those are some negative examples. Okay, how about some positive reasons to see today as the first. I read an article in the paper about a family that needed help with advocacy for their son with autism. My initial reaction is, “I can start helping them.” I ended up going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court with them.

Another example, I saved a lady who was going to jump from a bridge to her death. How? I didn’t talk about the past because obviously it must contain some pain. I talked about tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

So who am I to say, “Live every day like it’s your first”? I’m nobody in particular; but I can live today as if it’s my first and watch where it takes me!

]]>https://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/the-following-is-exactly-500-words-to-stimulate-some-conversation-what-do-you-believe/feed/0memberscoachingcomtoday-is-the-first-day-of-the-rest-of-your-life-quote-4.jpgThere is a method to my madness at MEMBERS Coachinghttps://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/there-is-a-method-to-my-madness-at-members-coaching/
https://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/there-is-a-method-to-my-madness-at-members-coaching/#respondSat, 13 Feb 2016 01:15:23 +0000http://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/?p=30 If you have not heard of ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ please scroll to the bottom of this article for a quick primer article on his work. You could also contact me, take advantage of the FREE 3 weeks of Peak Performance Coaching offer and have just the information pertinent to our work together explained. If not, please continue reading to see if what I’ve discovered intrigues you.

After decades of looking at what I’ve done successfully and also what I have done in a spectacularly bad way, as well as copious amount of reading, searching and studying, I asked myself the tough questions. Particularly I asked myself why some things were successful and some things were not, and further, how those pursuits were successful and unsuccessful. But most importantly, I asked myself if these results were repeatable, with consistent results, basically, was there a method to the madness.

Now, you should be asking yourself why my ideas matter. My name has no fancy letters after it. But my answer to that question is, having entered the world where I did and the environments I was subjected to growing up (not to mention I was exposed to the four major abuses that comprise 98% of those reported), and the work I have done my entire adult life make me a great experiment for overcoming internal and external obstacles I and others faced. I was able to see some semblance of success (success as I define it, not necessarily how you might), and not just for me, but those I worked with as well.

My assertion would just be a matter of my own opinion if no one else agreed or if others had not come up with the same conclusion independent of my belief. I am blessed enough to know a couple doctors (friends with Ph.D.’s working as psychologists, not as medical doctors) who independent of each other, or the benefit of my humble opinion, said I would be a great candidate for the ‘resiliency’ studies that are in vogue today in psychology (statistically I am lightyears beyond where I should be). It seems instead of just trying to dig people out of a hole, there is a movement afoot to actually help people thrive, prevail and succeed in life’s grand pursuits. It’s not just about turning lemons into lemonade; it’s about turning lemons into lemon meringue pie (and let me tell you, making meringue is no easy task).

So what does all this have to do with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? Let’s face it; Maslow was just making an observation of how humans interact with their surroundings based on their needs and drives. What I realized years ago is that you could turn Maslow’s work on its head, so to speak, and there was a way to manipulate or change perspectives on what he was telling us and use it to our advantage. I mean really, no one needs to tell me I crave shelter, food, community and the like. It’s a given and more than that, what good does the information do me in the real world, it’s common sense?

Memorializing my observations, a pattern emerged. There was correlation in a certain way to Maslow’s ‘hierarchy’ and I was able to not only teach it to others, but to get phenomenal results. It seems sometimes we just need to change our frame of reference and then move forward from there. And amazingly, moving forward with the right map seems to get you where you want to go a lot better than the wrong map.

Finally, what does this have to do with the high achieversI work with? Well it’s simple, those who are not satisfied with status quo, who want that extra edge, who want their cake and eat it too are the quickest to see the pattern, utilize its benefits and take their game to the next level. Will this system work for you? If it didn’t you’d be the first! Actually it can’t not work because it’s not only based on human nature, but every research article, every time-tested ‘words of wisdom’ and every success story I’ve ever read fits the profile. Contact me now, take advantage of the FREE 3 weeks of Peak Performance Coaching and see how it can work for you! What do you have to lose?

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An Introduction to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was an American psychologist who is most noted for developing the hierarchy of needs theory. Considered the founder of humanistic psychology, Maslow typically wrote about such topics as behavior and motivation, and first introduced the hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper, A Theory of Human Motivation.

The basic premise of this theory is that humans are born with certain needs, which can be categorized into levels depending on their degree of importance. Our most fundamental needs are physiological needs, and then safety needs, love needs, esteem needs, and finally the need for self-actualization. The idea is that as we fulfill our most basic needs in life we are able to move upward and fulfill the more complex needs represented higher on the hierarchy. We will not seek to reach higher levels, however, until our most basic needs are realized.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is commonly depicted as a five-tier pyramid, in which the bottom level represents our physiological needs, or the most critical needs for life. In this category are the requirements necessary for survival: food, water, air, warmth, and sleep. Once these needs have been addressed, we are able to move onto the next level, which is comprised of safety needs.

The need to feel safe and secure is psychological as well as physical, and may manifest itself in different ways depending on individual circumstances. Job security and a stable family environment are two examples of ways individuals seek to bring safety into their lives, and feeling removed from danger is an important step in reaching more advanced platforms of the pyramid.

When we feel out of danger and secure in the world, we are able to progress up the hierarchy and begin to fulfill our needs of love and belonging. In the third level of the pyramid, our social needs become a priority only after our physiological and safety requirements have been met and maintained. Our affiliation with and acceptance by others becomes the focus of our desires. While many adults look to fill this need by marrying someone and starting a family, children seek belonging from their parents and teenagers work to gain acceptance from their peers.

The fourth tier of the pyramid is reserved for esteem needs, or the need for achievement, confidence, respect, recognition, and approval. People increase their self-esteem by gaining an education, advancing in their careers, and working to improve themselves.

After all the previous needs have been met, an individual is capable of achieving the highest point in the pyramid, self-actualization. According to Maslow, fulfilling this need means reaching one’s highest potential and truly understanding one’s self. Few people reach this level in their lifetime, and even fewer stay there on a consistent basis. If the previous levels are thought to be oriented towards physical and psychological needs, the fifth level can be considered more spiritual in nature.

While there are some critiques of the theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has informed scholars in many fields from education to healthcare, and continues to be applied to a diverse set of academic disciples. Moreover, it remains an important contribution to humanistic psychological theory, and is still relevant to discussions today regarding human behavior and motivation.

__________________________________

“What’s in a name?”

The name “MEMBERS” is really an acronym. MEMBERS stands for helping my clients gain resiliency, confidence and leverage on their:

My vision is to work alongside all high achievers seeing them achieve all their highest goals, having facilitated the process which allowed them to gain all their victories faster and with less resistance._______________________________________________________

]]>https://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/there-is-a-method-to-my-madness-at-members-coaching/feed/0memberscoachingcomabraham-maslowlemon_meringue_pie_02330_16x9MaslowWhat should you look for in a Peak Performance Coach?https://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/12/how-do-i-know-what-to-look-for-in-a-peak-performance-coach/
https://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/2016/02/12/how-do-i-know-what-to-look-for-in-a-peak-performance-coach/#respondFri, 12 Feb 2016 02:25:29 +0000http://memberscoachingcom.wordpress.com/?p=22

I have to admit, there was a time when I thought having a coach was hooey, hog-wash, just plain silliness. What changed my mind? Getting some free coaching from a coach ruined me. I cannot think of it as hooey anymore. Worse yet, now I am a coach. A stretched mind can never go back to its original shape.

My first question should have been, “What is a peak performance coach, I mean what makes them one?” Sometimes it’s easier to be shown than told; at least that’s what worked for me. But I’ll do my best to put it into words what can only be fully grasped by experiencing. These are a few of the qualities that make a great peak performance coach.

First off, a peak performance coach needs to be a great listener. There is no other way to know where the client thinks the problem is. We all seem to intuitively know when something isn’t quite right or that we could do better somehow, that there is some ‘edge’ ‘out there’ that we could attain. Sometimes though, trying to fix it on our own doesn’t seem to work very well. It’s hard to be an inside observer from the outside. We simply cannot see the totality of ourselves. Worse yet, as Einstein said, “You cannot fix a problem in the same state of mind that created it.” We all have blind-spots.

Secondly, a peak performance coach needs to be a phenomenal question asker. Two reasons come immediately to mind. First they need to be able to ask phenomenal questions because they need to be able to solicit critical feedback they need from their client to see what’s going on, on the inside. Secondly and more importantly is the skill of asking the questions that help focus the client where they should be looking and away from anything that diminishes their abilities. Trying to concentrate on all the minutiae that brings success, at one time can actually be counter-productive. Focusing on the prize and letting our abilities naturally kick-in is where ‘flow’ occurs, it’s when we know we are ‘in the zone’.

Next a peak performance coach needs to be a great student. They need to be students of human nature, of their specific client and they need to be a student of all the varied literature that enhances their ability to facilitate the process of peak performance. They need to be able to do their craft in the most efficient and effective manner that is known to us today. The very subject of peak performance grows by leaps and bounds almost daily. Further, the subject has no clear boundary lines. A coach needs to be widely read and also deeply read in many areas to provide the best coaching to their clients. Simply, if you are not a student of life and for life you just can’t be effective for your clients.

While this list could go on and on, the last critical component of a top-notch peak performance coach that I’ll mention is caring. There is nothing that can compare with this. It is the critical component that allows synergy to form between coach and client. Actually, I don’t think it would be possible to be a peak performance coach of any caliber without caring. Peak performance is an energy intensive endeavor. And this is not only true for the client, but if the coach is fully engaged, it is energy demanding for them too. The only way to give that amount of energy to something is by caring.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it will get you started. Interview your prospective coach, find out their background, and see if they are a student of the science. Find out if you can get a complimentary session to feel if there is a possible connection. But probably most important, see if they have the qualities listed and most importantly, see if they truly care about your vision and your success. Without that you’ll have wasted a lot more than the fee you paid.

Realizing it is a reporters job to sensationalize a story, and the article “Lawsuit Shines Unflattering Light on ‘Life Coaching’ Industry by NICOLE SPECTOR” needs little sensationalizing, there are some glaring points in this article that you should be leery of. Don’t get me wrong; always beware of what you are getting into. Always read before signing on the dotted line. Always check sources!

A class-action lawsuit that shines a negative light on any industry is damaging to those 99% that are following the ethic route. What’s interesting is she points out that the “field that attracts many practitioners who lack any training or certification.” Statistics by the ICF, whom she cites later in the article, has published data that 80% of those who go through Coaching certification are not in the Coaching business one year later, for those with no training or background the percentage is even higher. They also cite that it takes an average of two years for that 20% who might have stuck around that long to get their first paying customer.

My point is not that there are not snake-oil salespeople. There are shysters in every industry. But you are more likely to get a coach with a lack of experience rather than someone who is trying to bilk you out of money. And the up-side of that is they probably are inexpensive, so you are getting some coaching at bargain price.

Here is also a problem I have with the article, the author writes “While illicit activity can happen in any industry, life coaching is particularly susceptible because it is unregulated and anyone can say they’re a life coach establish a practice, experts say.” Do you see the irony? She writes, “…anyone can say…” and she ends it with, “experts say”. It would make me laugh if someone out there wasn’t buying her assertions just like they bought the assertions of the Ponzi schemers. What experts? What makes them an expert? Based on what authorizing body?

The author cites a business owner who said, “There is so much snake oil out there in the self-help industry, and people should definitely keep their BS detectors up,” Anna Kunnecke, chief commercial officer of Declare Dominion, a life coaching service in Portland, Oregon.” The article does not read if this Coaching business owner is in fact certified themselves. The very fact that they highlight the self-help industry puts reputable Coaches in a different light. Are Mentors and Consultant part of the self-help industry? Most reputable Coaches have more in common with consultants than they do with motivational speakers.

Then the article goes on to read, “It’s also big business. A study by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), a nonprofit industry group that offers certification programs for life coaches, estimated that total industry revenue was $1.979 billion in 2012. And according to the Department of Labor statistics analyzed by CareerTrends, there were 202,360 “self-enrichment education teachers” – a category that includes life coaches — in the U.S. as of 2014.” How is this for murky waters? They highlight who the ICF is but don’t qualify what they mean by “estimated”. Then to totally cast this in darkness the article cites a big number from the Department of labor. But they say that the group they are referring to number wise also contains Coaches. Are coaches 1% of this number, 50%, 10%. I don’t know that the statistic they give has any relevancy in the first place, but if someone sees value in the concept shouldn’t there be some transparency?

Here might be the biggest travesty! “Unlike a doctor or a counselor, life coaches don’t have to back up their titles with a degree. They can also earn some kind of certificate in just a couple of days.” “Unlike a doctor or a counselor”? Any Coach who makes a correlation between themselves and a doctor or counselor is to be avoided at ALL costs. And any Coach who practices anything requiring a doctorate, a psychology post-graduate degree, or the like is breaking the law and should not only be reported but avoided like the plague.

The only benefit I truly read in this article was one, to those also bilked out of money by these so called business people so they can be added to the lawsuit. And two, this quote, “For people interested in hiring or becoming a life coach, a little research also goes a long way, said Samantha Ettus, a work-life-balance practitioner.”

This author is downright insulting to people who shop for a Coach. “Despite such advice (advice given in this article), most prospective clients are very trusting when they enter a relationship with a life coach.” Ouch. Further, and making coaching out to be psychological treatment, she quotes in her article, “Another reason that people may pick a life coach without doing the research is because they are emotionally vulnerable. And when people are feeling lost, they tend to lose sight of the fact that they do have something to lose if they make a bad choice, said Ettus.” Coaching is not therapy. Coaching is not to fix deep-rooted trauma. Coaching is not remedial.

Now this takes the prize! Toward the end of the article she writes, “This is as important as making a medical decision.” What? Now who is being disingenuous? This is as important as making a medical decision? What? This is a business decision. You don’t get a coach for psychological issues. You get a coach to further your endeavors. You get a coach to move forward on your vision. You get a coach for awareness and accountability, not for something that requires a medical decision-like investigation.

Written by Shane M.D. Scott, 02/06/16. Shane spent over 20 years in the Criminal Justice field and is also a Coach. Shane freely admits he doesn’t practice medicine and is quite sure he never went to medical school. No medical decision necessary.